Footbridge Over Storrow Drive Remains Unfinished Ahead Of July 4 Festivities
BOSTON (CBS) --In the next 24 hours, thousands of 4th of July revelers will cross pedestrian footbridges over Storrow Drive to get to festivities on the Esplanade. But one of the footbridges that was supposed to be open, will not be accessible.
The Frances Appleton Bridge was scheduled to open in 2017 but has been thwarted by construction delays. It is not set to open sometime in the fall, MassDOT said.
The cost of the bridge, according to MassDOT, is $12.5 million. It will replace the current pedestrian bridge that crosses Storrow from Charles Street. The bridge will tower 21 feet over Storrow Drive, is 14 feet wide and 752 feet long.
"Just the difference in engineering between [the Appleton Bridge] and that one its like night and day," one man said.
"The steelwork is like something you'd see at an amusement park on rollercoaster rides," said another.
Some Back Bay residents who spoke with WBZ-TV said they used the footbridge over Storrow Drive almost daily. They are frustrated with the slow-moving construction.
"It's just taking forever been working on the other one just as much as this, the other one is for cars, why isn't this one done?" asked a man.
Others said, "We've been coming over this bridge for two years... just wondering why it's taking so long for construction."
The project began in 2015.
As for when it's done? "It's going to be beautiful and it's going to be wonderful," said one woman.
